Monthly Archives: October 2018
Halloween Flying Pumpkin Drone
We had with us the Flying Pumpkin Drone for this Halloween. Using the two classic quadcopters, the Walkera X350 Pro and the DJI Phantom, we had a blast just flying this lighted up pumpkin around the estate. It was a stormy day out.
On the bonus scene, you will find the neighborhood kids having a fun time with Trick-or-treating last year, great memories when you have a little one running around. Here is a take from the flying pumpkin day… enjoy!
RMILEC Signal Converter V3 SBus PWM PPM
RMILEC Signal Converter Signal Analyzer V3. If you want to test or fly with a SBus receiver without a flight controller the old fashion way, you are in luck; this signal converter is able to convert SBus signal into PWM signal and two-way PPM signal. It can also convert PWM signal into PPM signal and SBUS signal, or convert two-way PPM signal into PWM signals and SBUS signals. Amazing! I will take some video to give you some ideas of what you can potentially use it for, probably more ideas than I can suggest.
Besides debugging signals, we plan to use the FrSky R9 MM, the latest long-range 900MHz mini receiver on a plane, so one option is to use RMILEC signal converter and connect directly to each servo leads. The RMILEC Signal Converter carries a small footprint, about a size of a SD card. There is also an older version that incorporate a LiPo alarm of this converter, in that way it also function as a low voltage warning system…
XK A110 Predator MQ-9 EPP Glider 565mm
XK is one of my all time favorite manufacturer that makes ready to fly (RTF) self-stabilized drones. This XK A110 is modeled after the Predator MQ-9 drone using 3 channels. XK A110 Predator MQ-9 is very light and uses differential trust, just like a quadcopter, to power the turns instead of using a rudder. Two small propellers, one on each wing. A little disappointing, the back larger propeller is just a dummy prop that only adds some drag.
The pusher propellers are dual-engine powered and rotates in opposite directions to cancel each other out of the counter-torque; that keeps it more stable and in path. Comes built-in a 6-axis gyroscope flight auto-stabilization system with dual rates, allowing me to perform some aerobatics such as loops…
Motive-RC R8SB Telemetry Receiver on Taranis X-Lite
I still fly lots of planes the old school way, without any flight controllers, so this Motive RC R8SB all-in-one receiver even though a D8, it allows me to use my Taranis radio transmitter and most of the features. Add a voltage sensor and I am all set. The receiver comes with various model type SBUS, physical channel PWM outputs, PPM and RSSI. The RSSI warns me about the signal strength before I fly too far out. Here is a video on how I add a RSSI bar to my X-Lite screen using the Motive-RC R8SB.
The R8SB is like the FrSky V8R7-II receiver but with telemetry functions. It bound instantly and lights up like a green lantern. There are more pins than a usual receiver, but they are nicely color coded to help me determine signal, power and ground. The upper set of pins are your 8 channels or SBUS/PPM. The lower set of pins are RSSI, two analog telemetry ports (A1&A2), A1 for internal receiver battery voltage sensor, A2 for external battery voltage sensor (0~30V, 1~6S) and one digital data-stream port (Rx, Tx)…
